For Patrick Marshall, the assisted-living apartment he called home for about three weeks was "like living in a jail."

"I couldn't stand it. The rules; the regulations. It's not that they were bad rules or anything, but, I felt like a baby instead of a grown adult. That style of living just wasn't for me,'' he said.

Yet, he knew that as a 70-year-old struggling with emphysema, he wasn't able to take care of himself and his home the way he should.

So when he heard of a new program in Butler County that is geared to keeping seniors at home even if they are nursing-home-eligible, he called right away. And he became the first client enrolled in LIFE Butler County, with LIFE an acronym for Living Independence for the Elderly.

Now Mr. Marshall lives in an apartment in Butler Township. A nurse visits daily when he's under the weather. A bus delivers him to and from a new LIFE center in Downtown Butler twice a week where he sees a doctor weekly, has a nutritious lunch and has the opportunity to play board games and cards with other visitors. In addition, a LIFE aide visits his apartment every Friday to clean, wash dishes and do laundry.

"I love it. I really do,'' said Mr. Marshall, a retired car salesman with two grown children, neither of whom live nearby.

"They are the nicest, most professional, competent and caring people you could be working with ... and I'm able to be in my own home, living on my own," he said.

It's the kind of message Mary Lou Harju wants to spread around. As marketing manager for the LIFE programs in Butler and Beaver counties, she's hoping to beef up participation in the Butler County program that began Sept. 1.

Funded by the state Department of Public Welfare, it is operated jointly by Lutheran SeniorLife and Butler Health System, which provides food and medical services. In Allegheny County, the program is known as LIFE Pittsburgh or its companion Community LIFE, which has centers in Tarentum, McKeesport, Homestead and East Liberty, and extends into portions of Westmoreland County.

The program is aimed at those who qualify for Medicaid. Private-pay arrangements are possible, but rare. Also, a participants must have a medical condition that would make the person eligible for entry into a long-term care facility.

LIFE Beaver County began in March 2004 and has more than 120 participants. It is among about 60 programs in 40 states connected to the national Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly -- an alternative to nursing home care for low-income seniors.

Surprisingly, Ms. Harju said, it costs less to send a nurse to a patient's home and provide an aide for weekly cleaning, transportation for medical purposes, a center social life and doctor care, and a host of other services than for Medicaid to pay for someone to have round-the-clock care at an assisted living facility.

"We have found that people are able to get better care in their home and the government saves money because the LIFE programs reduce hospitalizations and nursing home stays,'' she said.

She estimated that a month in a nursing home can cost Medicaid $8,000 compared to $5,000 for an at-home LIFE participant.

The program has been in operation for years, beginning first in California and spreading across the country. Pennsylvania began offering it about 10 years ago, she said, with Allegheny County among the first in the state to host the program. It's now in 30 counties in Pennsylvania, with more being added each year.

The LIFE Butler Center in the old state welfare offices at 231 W. Diamond St. is a critical component of the program. The center serves as an adult day center with social activities, physical therapy, a medical clinic, and a dining area. It's open four days a week and minibuses are used to transport clients.

The day may begin with breakfast, followed perhaps by a visit with the doctor or nurse, some physical or speech therapy. A social worker and dietitian are available to consult.

Then there are the social activities -- exercises, table games, crafts and music, even religious services and holiday parties. There's a lunch, declared "very good" by Mr. Marshall. Recent entrees include stuffed chicken breast, cabbage rolls, meatloaf, macaroni and cheese. And for those who would like to rest after the meal, there's a big-screen TV, comfortable chairs or beds on which to take a cat nap.

While the center is a cornerstone of the LIFE operation, the services extend directly to the client's home. New enrollees are visited by an occupational therapist to see if any adjustments are needed to suit the person. "This can be as simple as installing a bath bench or grab bars or moving furniture or rerouting electrical cords. The idea is to make the house as safe as possible,'' Ms. Harju said.

The rest of the services offered depends on the needs of the client. They can include transportation to doctors or grocery stores, housekeeping, bathing, a nurse to check medications, meal delivery and laundry.

"We want people to do for themselves whatever they can do for themselves. Maybe a person can dust his home, but he can't run the vacuum or mop the floors. We'll send someone in to do those things," Ms. Harju said.

The services don't end there, either. Program participants can get eye glasses, dentures, and hearing aids at no cost. Respite care at a local nursing home is offered to families who need to be out of town for a period of time.

While income-eligibility guidelines can change, they currently call for a monthly income of under $1,911 and no more than $8,000 in assets, not including a home or a car. The numbers shift if they pertain to a couple.

The most serious concern among those who inquire about the program is that the medical professionals are provided through the LIFE program. "A client has to give up his own doctor. And some people don't like that,'' she said.

Mr. Marshall said it was no problem for him. "The nurses and the doctor are great,'' he said.

If a person signs up to participate in LIFE then wants to drop out, that's no problem, Ms. Harju said.

Lisa Monday, director of the Butler County Area Agency on Aging, praised the program.

"LIFE actually incorporates medical care with the service provision. It's a good program,'' she said. "It's another possibility for people who need longer-term care services. Any time you have options for care, that's a good thing.''

An open house at the LIFE Butler County center will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Dec. 3.

More information on LIFE Butler can be obtained by calling the center at 724-287-5433.

For information on Community LIFE, go to www.commlife.org or call 1-866-419-1693.

For information on LIFE Pittsburgh, go to www.lifepittsburgh.org or call 412-388-8050.